Cheap & easy brake cooling mod

SeattleLion · 05-20-2011, 11:52 AM

I have read all of the brake cooling threads here that I could find. I could use a little help understanding what really might help. It's obvious that our brakes overheat, particularly the fronts. After my first day at the track you could smell my brakes for 100ft. So there is no doubt our brakes could use some cooling.

When I look at other sports cars, I see massive vents front and rear to ventilate the wheel well. As others have pointed out, a small flex duct from the fangs seems like a relatively small amount of help.

That brings me to my question. If we can add some marginal cooling, like a duct from the fangs, will that be noticable in HPDE? Also, if we upgrade the pads to Carbotech, etc., will the upgrade just make the heating issue worse?

I am not an automotive engineer so I have no real basis to draw conclusions. It does seem to me that Nissan performed a balancing act between power, coefficient of friction for the body, and braking ability. I have the sport with the Akimbo brakes, which certainly should have plenty of power to stop the car. In my short track experience, they do a good job. Clearly the more aggressive I get, the more likely they will overheat and fade.

This is a classic mod issue. If you increase performance of any system, do you risk introducing unwanted effects in another? In this case, is there a practical way to reduce brake heating enough to improve performance? Does just giving the brakes more stopping ability (pads, rotors, caliper changes) really improve the car's performance over a 30 or 60 minute track session?

So, if I understand this thread (and others) correctly, I can dramatically improve brake performance by trading the stock pads for high performance pads designed to work at very high temperatures. I can also reduce the risk of brake fluid boil by trading out the DOT 3 for DOT 4 or DOT 5.1 brake fluid. I can increase pedal response with SS brake lines. I get all that. But if I do make the brakes more aggressive, do I reduce the time I can safely use them? After 10 hot laps will the brakes fade dangerously? Most importantly, has anyone figured out how to keep the brakes cool under hot lap conditions?

Thanks for you help.

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05-20-2011, 11:52 AM	#27 (permalink)
SeattleLion Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 226 Drives: '13 Mustang GT Prem. Rep Power: 235	I have read all of the brake cooling threads here that I could find. I could use a little help understanding what really might help. It's obvious that our brakes overheat, particularly the fronts. After my first day at the track you could smell my brakes for 100ft. So there is no doubt our brakes could use some cooling. When I look at other sports cars, I see massive vents front and rear to ventilate the wheel well. As others have pointed out, a small flex duct from the fangs seems like a relatively small amount of help. That brings me to my question. If we can add some marginal cooling, like a duct from the fangs, will that be noticable in HPDE? Also, if we upgrade the pads to Carbotech, etc., will the upgrade just make the heating issue worse? I am not an automotive engineer so I have no real basis to draw conclusions. It does seem to me that Nissan performed a balancing act between power, coefficient of friction for the body, and braking ability. I have the sport with the Akimbo brakes, which certainly should have plenty of power to stop the car. In my short track experience, they do a good job. Clearly the more aggressive I get, the more likely they will overheat and fade. This is a classic mod issue. If you increase performance of any system, do you risk introducing unwanted effects in another? In this case, is there a practical way to reduce brake heating enough to improve performance? Does just giving the brakes more stopping ability (pads, rotors, caliper changes) really improve the car's performance over a 30 or 60 minute track session? So, if I understand this thread (and others) correctly, I can dramatically improve brake performance by trading the stock pads for high performance pads designed to work at very high temperatures. I can also reduce the risk of brake fluid boil by trading out the DOT 3 for DOT 4 or DOT 5.1 brake fluid. I can increase pedal response with SS brake lines. I get all that. But if I do make the brakes more aggressive, do I reduce the time I can safely use them? After 10 hot laps will the brakes fade dangerously? Most importantly, has anyone figured out how to keep the brakes cool under hot lap conditions? Thanks for you help.